Ben Judd

:"This article refers to the artist. For the Capcom producer see Ben Judd (Producer).

Ben Judd (born 1970) is a British artist, and lives and works in London. Judd is best known for his undercover videos of specific groups of people, such as trainspotters and Morris dancers, to which he added a voice-over describing an imagined connection or intimacy with the subjects.

Delusion is key to Ben Judd’s work - that an experience could be evidently constructed but somehow the observer, and in turn the viewer of the work, buys into the experience. The groups of people that he videos (tourists, trainspotters, amateur photographers, Morris dancers, preachers, witches) are part of a group and also detached from a larger group. Similarly, his activity mirrors theirs – he is also on the periphery of their group, and is both a voyeur and participant. Judd’s position is simultaneously close and distant, or connected and disconnected.

Judd’s photographs display a similar interest in the relationship between the constructed and the natural. His 3D photographs encapsulate a dichotomy; the viewer is simultaneously aware of their construction yet is also deluded that the experience is real.

While on residency in Colombia in 2007, Judd formed his own group by fabricating the contradictory movement I Will Heal You, which took its beliefs from an eclectic range of sources. This work culminated in a performance in which he adopted the role of the movement’s leader. The accompanying video (see I Will Heal You) was constructed through his contact with a witch, a parapsychologist, a Scientologist and the sole member of a new religion, during which he attempted to believe, even on a temporary basis, in what he was being told or was being asked to do. Key phrases from Judd’s interactions with these people were used as lyrics for songs, which were included in the video, altering the viewers’ interpretation of the words from ordinary to prophetic, or vice versa.. In May 2007, Judd was interviewed by Miser & Now [http://www.keithtalent.com/main/] magazine on the work he produced there:

In previous work my intervention has largely been enacted through a series of voice-overs that provoke an almost imagined level of intervention in terms of what is being seen. With this work I wanted to put myself directly into the work and to join these belief systems. I wanted to add dimension and I really enjoyed it. I think that I built up the idea of the movement so much, and had so many collaborators on board, that a performative outcome became inevitable. There was an amazing sense of build up prior to the opening night. More and more things were being made, the space was being transformed, and at that stage I knew that if I wanted this thing to be believable then the ultimate conclusion was wearing the outfits and becoming the work. The project culminated in inviting people to visit the movement. This became an effective way to express the contradiction and dual function that I wanted within the work. People were invited to join the movement but also warned that it was a sham and that they should stay away. The manifesto for the movement was contradictory throughout. It was read in English and Spanish, so everything fed into this idea of a duality. It created a rhythm that in some way echoed the techniques of repetition adopted by many of the individuals and groups that I had been involved with.

In May 2008 Judd invited two mediums to explore a gallery space with members of the public, which resulted in a séance and a demonstration of clairvoyance (see the video Presence at http://www.benjudd.com/). Judd has also videod himself at a class for clairvoyants, in which he stood up in front of the class and demonstrated his clairvoyant abilities (see the video Close To You). As with previous work, Judd is interested in challenging his preconceptions about a particular belief system; as an atheist and a skeptic he attempts to buy into an ideology and adopt the role of a believer. Judd genuinely participates in the activity yet is also aware of his position as an observer, and of how the act of videoing will recontextualise what is experienced.

Key Artworks

*I Will Heal You, 2007, video, 12 min
*The Truth Will Set You Free, 2005, video, 11 min
*In This Wonderful Country (Part 1), 2005, video, 4 min 20 sec
*In This Wonderful Country (Part 2), 2005, video, 14 min 46 sec
*I Can and Cannot Live Without, 2004, video, 3 min 30 sec
*The Future Never Looks How You Expected It To Look, 2003, video, 3 min 18 sec
*I Love, 2003, video, 7 min 15 sec
*I Miss, 2002, video, 10 min 50 sec
*I Remember (Cindy Sherman), video, 2000, 4 min 30 sec
*I Remember (Glamour), 1999, video, 19 min 30 sec

Education

*1997 MA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London

Selected Solo Exhibitions

*2007 Lugar a Dudas, Cali, Colombia
*2005 Vilma Gold, London
*2005 Kunstbunker, Nuremberg

External links

* [http://www.gasworks.org.uk/international/detail.php?id=260 Gasworks international residency ]
* [http://www.galerialeme.com/exposicoes_textos.php?lang=ing&id=49 Exhibition at Galeria Leme]
* [http://www.benjudd.com/ Artist's website]
* [http://www.vilmagold.com/newpages/previous/ben3.htm Exhibition at Vilma Gold gallery]
* [http://museum.icp.org/museum/exhibitions/triennial/judd/index.html Exhibition at International Center of Photography]